The Inner West Council has begun designing a second GreenWay after the existing Cooks River to Iron Cove route recorded more than 2,500 pedestrian and cyclist movements on its busiest day. The proposed 3.5-kilometre corridor would run from Ashfield through Croydon and Haberfield to Iron Cove, converting an inaccessible stormwater canal into a largely off-road link for walking, cycling and recreation.
The first GreenWay opened in December 2025. Council says it is on track for nearly one million visits during its first year, connecting the Cooks River at Earlwood and Marrickville with Iron Cove and the Bay Run through a six-kilometre corridor.
The second route remains a design project, not a construction commitment. Council has not announced a construction date or a full construction budget, with flood studies, utility coordination, approvals and future funding still required before work can begin.
Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said the first route’s use had justified planning another connection across the area. He said, "When you’re seeing more than 2,500 pedestrian and cyclist movements in a single day and are on track for one million visits in the first year, it’s clear the GreenWay has exceeded expectations."
The proposed route would broadly follow Iron Cove Creek, also known as the Dobroyd Canal, from near Ashfield Aquatic Centre towards the Bay Run. Plans include creek-side parks, habitat restoration, an elevated canal boardwalk and safer crossings at Parramatta Road and Ramsay Road.
There is a long campaign behind the proposal. Friends of Iron Cove Creek formed in May 2020 after residents identified unsafe road crossings between Ashfield Pool, schools, parks, shops and the Bay Run.
The group says 95 per cent of respondents supported the Iron Cove Creek Masterplan during the 2023 public consultation. Its campaign has involved surveys, petitions, public exhibition and meetings with Council, bicycle groups, WalkSydney, a school parents and citizens association and local businesses.
Inner West Council endorsed the masterplan on 9 April 2024. It allocated $500,000 for design work in its 2024-25 budget, following earlier funding of $100,000 from Council and a $90,000 NSW Government Metropolitan Greenspace Program grant.
Friends of Iron Cove Creek said residents wanted a safer route to the city and the bays. One community response published by the group said, "I want to be able to ride from Ashfield to the city via the bays. This link is essential."
The engineering challenge is substantial. Iron Cove Creek is a concrete-lined, fenced stormwater channel, and the corridor contains or borders high-pressure gas mains, water mains, electricity conduits and sewer infrastructure that must continue operating safely.
The route is expected to be staged across six precincts because land ownership and physical constraints vary along the creek. Current design work covers sections between John Street and Ramsay Street, with a first draft completed in June 2026 and options being assessed for different areas.
The existing GreenWay offers a useful comparison, but it is not a completely separated path along every metre. Council identifies an on-street section around Weston Street, while cycling discussions have raised concerns about wayfinding, crossings, crowding and bottlenecks near the Bay Run.
That matters for the second corridor. A mostly off-road route could make short trips more comfortable for children, pram users and less-confident riders, but its value will depend on consistent path quality, clear signs and safe connections at busy roads.
The existing GreenWay is a linear connection rather than a loop, so public transport is practical for current trips. It connects with Dulwich Hill, Lewisham and Summer Hill stations and several Inner West Light Rail stops, while the full route takes about 25 minutes to ride or 75 minutes to walk, depending on stops and conditions.
The proposed southern end near Ashfield Aquatic Centre is about 360 metres from Croydon Station and 710 metres from Ashfield Station. That makes train travel more practical than driving for many visitors, although the centre has car parks with two-hour weekday and four-hour weekend limits.
The Bay Run serves a different purpose. Its approximately seven-kilometre route is a foreshore loop estimated to attract about 5,000 people each day in 2023, while the GreenWay corridors connect suburbs, parks, transport nodes and local centres.
Residents should treat the Ashfield to Iron Cove route as a project in design, rather than a path available for immediate use. For current recreation, the existing GreenWay can be combined with the Cooks River shared path towards Botany Bay, or with the Bay Run and Iron Cove foreshore for a longer walking or cycling outing.
Related to This Story
Inner West Council
Inner West Council is the local government authority for suburbs including Ashfield, Croydon, Haberfield, Marrickville, Dulwich Hill, Leichhardt and Lilyfield. It is leading design work for the proposed Iron Cove Creek GreenWay.
Cooks River to Iron Cove GreenWay
The six-kilometre corridor links the Cooks River at Earlwood with Iron Cove and the Bay Run through shared paths, parks, public art and ecological improvements. It opened in December 2025 after more than two decades of community advocacy.
Friends of Iron Cove Creek
Friends of Iron Cove Creek is a grassroots community organisation formed by local residents in 2020. It advocates for a safe shared walking and cycling path between Ashfield and Iron Cove and has contributed to consultation and masterplanning.
The first GreenWay was named Local Project of the Year at the 2026 Sydney Awards, adding public pressure to the case for another route. The next decision will be less about whether people want the connection and more about how safely and affordably the creek corridor can be built.